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Enlarge ImageRequest to buy this photoEric Risberg | Associated PressCraig Federighi, senior vice president of software engineering at Apple, introduces the new OS X Mavericks operating system during the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference.

SAN FRANCISCO — Apple is throwing out most of the real-world graphical cues from its iPhone and
iPad software, such as the casino-green “felt” of its Game Center app, in what it calls the biggest
update since the iPhone’s launch in 2007.

The new operating system, called iOS 7, strives for a clean, simple, translucent look. Apple is
redesigning all its applications and icons to conform to the new look, driven by long-time hardware
design chief Jony Ive.

Apple demonstrated the new software yesterday at its Worldwide Developers Conference in San
Francisco. The new design direction was widely expected and will show up on iPhones, iPad and iPod
Touches this fall, the company said.

The software strives for a multilayered look, with translucent panels. On the main screen, the
background image moves subtly with the movement of the phone, creating an illusion of depth. Other
screens are padded out with plenty of white space.

The software has “a whole new structure that is coherent and is applied across the entire
system,” Ive said in a recorded presentation. “The design recedes and, in doing so, elevates your
content.”

While design modifications could help Apple distinguish its devices from rival phones and
tablets, they risk alienating longtime users.

Among other changes, Apple’s new iOS system will update apps automatically. It will store Web
passwords online in Apple’s syncing service, iCloud, making them available across devices. The
AirDrop feature will allow sharing of big files with Apple-equipped people in the same room.

The company also stepped up its rivalry with Google, maker of the Android software on Samsung
and other phones. Apple said the Siri virtual assistant will use searches from Microsoft’s Bing,
Google’s rival. Apple also is bringing its mapping service to desktops and laptops to compete with
Google Maps and others.

The Cupertino, Calif., company is also launching a Pandora-like Internet radio service, iTunes
Radio. It will be built into the Music app and stream music free. There will be advertising, except
for people who pay $25 a year for the iTunes Match online music storage.

Apple was a pioneer of online music sales and is still a leader in that field, but streaming
services such as Pandora and Spotify have emerged as popular alternatives to buying.

Apple updates its iOS operating system every year and doesn’t charge for the updates. The new
operating system will be available for the iPhone 4 and later models, and on the iPad 2 and later
models, including the Mini.

Apple also revealed that it no longer will name its Mac operating system updates after big cats.
Instead, it’s paying homage to the geography of its home state. Craig Federighi, senior vice
president for software engineering, said the next version of Mac OS X will be called Mavericks,
after an undersea rock formation that produces big waves near Half Moon Bay, Calif.

The new operating system will extend battery life and shorten boot-up times, Federighi said.

The software update will include iBooks for the first time, giving people who buy e-books from
Apple a way to display them on the computer screen in addition to the iPhone and iPad.

Apple also revealed a complete revamp of the Mac Pro, the boxy desktop model that’s the
workhorse of graphics and film professionals. The new model is a black cylinder, one eighth the
volume of the old box.

The current Mac Pro is the only Mac with internal hardware that can easily be modified and
expanded by the user, but that possibility disappears with the new model. The company is adopting
the same compact, one-piece design present in the Mac Mini and iMac.

The new Mac Pro will be the first Mac to be assembled in the U.S. in many years. Apple said the
new computer will launch this year.